'For a dead man, Elvis Presley is awfully noisy. His body may have failed him in 1977, but today his spirit, his image, and his myths do more than live on: they flourish, they thrive, they multiply.' Why is Elvis Presley so ubiquitous a presence in US culture? Why does he continue to enjoy a cultural prominence that would be the envy of the most heavily publicized living celebrities? In Elvis after Elvis Gil Rodman traces the myriad manifestations of The King in popular and not-so-popular culture. He asks why Elvis continues to defy our expectations of how dead stars are supposed to behave: Elvis not only refuses to go away, he keeps showing up in places where he seemingly doesn't belong. Rodman draws upon an extensive and eclectic body of Elvis 'sightings', from Elvis's appearances at the heart of the 1992 Presidential campaign to the debate over his worthiness as a subject for a postage stamp, and from Elvis's central role in furious debates about racism and the appropriation of African-American music to the world of Elvis impersonators and the importance of Graceland as a place of pilgrimage for Elvis fans and followers. Rodman shows how Elvis has become inseparable from many of the defining myths of US culture, enmeshed with the American dream and the very idea of the 'United States', caught up in debates about race, gender and sexuality and in the wars over what constitutes a national culture.

Here, for the first time anywhere, is a precise measurement of a celebrity's impact on American culture. This annotated, highly readable listing details the verified book titles, magazines, dissertations, and significant articles about Elvis Presley. The entries show that Elvis was more than just a popular-culture phenomenon. Besides documentation of his concerts, the food he ate, and posthumous Elvis sightings, here is the proof of Elvis's impact on every aspect of American life: his invention of rock 'n' roll; his spurring of the sexual revolution; his influence on the civil rights movement; how his death changed the media's treatment of celebrities; and how a new religion devoted to Elvis has become part of the mainstream.

The emergence of Thatcherism around 1980, which ushered in a period of neo-liberalism in British politics that still resonates today, led musicians, like other artists, to respond to their context of production. This book uses the early work of one of these musicians, Elvis Costello, to explore the relationship between popular music and politics in one historical period. It is not a biography but an exploration of the interaction between a creative musician's works and their context of constraint and opportunity. Pilgrim and Ormrod unpack the political meaning of Thatcherism and deal with matters arising in that political context about Costello's life but which had resonance for many others at the time (and still do). These topics include the politics of race, class, gender and ageing, emphasising the recurring theme of nostalgia in modern and post-modern life. Throughout the book examples are provided of Costello's songs and how they work musically to illustrate or stimulate the contextual discussion. The book will be of significant interest to musicologists, sociologists and social psychologists.

Investigates the rise of the King of Rock 'n' Roll to god-like status

This illustrated encyclopedia to acoustic guitars demonstrates their elegant beauty and which famous musicians favored which brands throughout the years.

Was Al Gore only half-kidding at the 1992 Democratic Convention when he compared Bill Clinton to "the King?" Why does Elvis's name and image still pop up in so many movies, television shows, and songs? From black velvet paintings, comic books, and postage stamps to impersonators, movie characters, and sports stars, Images of Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 provides a surprisingly broad vista from which to view American popular culture. An insightful exploration of America's overwhelming and enduring cultural fascination with the expanding and elusive Elvis myth, this book combines historical, textual, and sociocultural analysis with a wide range of resource materials to examine the many images of Elvis in American culture. Focusing on the period following his death in 1977 up to the present, Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 informs and entertains popular readers and academicians in American studies, popular culture, radio/television/film, sociology, music, and 20th-century American history. Elvis fans ("Elfans") and collectors of Elvis Presley materials and memorabilia also need to add this perspective-enhancing book to your personal libraries. Author George Plasketes shows us how representations, reflections, responses, and references to Elvis in art, artifacts, film, video, television, music, performance, literature, memorabilia, and alleged sightings, continue to make American culture a "mystery terrain" of endless "Elvistas." The repetition of these images is a link to our cultural identity. Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 provides the necessary critical analysis and the resource guide to the various representations of Elvis during the past 20 years, to give readers an engaging and informative way to pursue and interpret the expansive and ever-evolving Elvis myth and its importance to American popular culture.

The acoustic guitar is the instrument of the people and Play Acoustic tells the people how to play it. This detailed and beautifully illustrated book explores the history of the acoustic guitar, from the jazz age to the folk revolutions of the early 1960s and late 1990s to the current rebirth of bluegrass and the singer-songwriter boom of the past decade. Skilled professional musicians and experienced tutors coach the reader through 11 styles, using exercises suitable to novice players new to each style and working up to full pieces and advanced techniques. Entire chapters are devoted to folk, rock and pop, blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, and more, with detailed guidance through both musical notation and tablature, diagrams, and explanatory text. Accompanying audio also offers listening examples of the most crucial of these exercises, to help players master each style.

Acoustic Jurisprudence provides the first detailed study of the trial of Simon Bikindi, who was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda of inciting genocide with his songs. Using Bikindi as a case study, the book develops the many relations between law and sound, and the importance of sound in legal practice more widely.

The influential rock musician Elvis Costello is recognized for the impressive breadth and scope of his music. His collaborations with such musicians as Tony Bennett and the Count Basie orchestra, however, attest to the many contradictions that define Elvis Costello, the punk rocker. This important guide to his music and career contains over 800 bibliographic citations and a complete discography of Costello's commercially released recordings. The discography, divided into two sections, separately details Costello's career as performer and composer. A brief biography traces his critically acclaimed career and highlights both the influences on his music and the myriad ways in which his music has influenced others. The vast information compiled in this guide to further research is as interesting and diverse as Costello's career. Rock music scholars, musicologists, and Costello enthusiasts will appreciate the videography/filmography, bibliography of musical scores, and list of electronic resources that supplement the extensive discography and annotated bibliography. A works index and a general index make it easy to cross-reference and locate specific information.